<![CDATA[Singapore expects economy to be hit by Wuhan virus, is now screening every flight landing at Changi Airport]>

Singapore is anticipating that the coronavirus outbreak will hit its economy this year, as it braces for more imported cases and announces new measures to contain the virus " including temperature screenings on every flight arriving at Changi Airport.

"We certainly expect there to be an impact on our economy, business and consumer confidence this year especially as the situation is expected to persist for some time," Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said.

Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong, who is also co-chair of the country's multi-ministry task force set up to deal with the Wuhan virus, said Singapore was ready to respond if needed, whether it was "in the budget or as an off-budget package". The island nation's budget is to be delivered on February 18.

Chan and Wong were among 10 ministers speaking at a Monday press briefing, the bulk of them from the government's 4G leaders " a reference to the fourth generation of politicians from the ruling People's Action Party.

"We'll make sure we have resources available to help support our businesses, vulnerable groups, as well as the economy," Wong said, identifying retail and tourism as areas that would be impacted, especially when travel restrictions start to bite.

There have been more than 2,800 cases of the virus around the world and 80 deaths reported in China. Singapore has confirmed four cases of the coronavirus, all of which are travellers from Wuhan.

Chinese nationals make up the largest share of visitors to Singapore, accounting for 18 per cent of arrivals in 2018, according to Singapore Tourism Board statistics. Chan said the country had a "very diversified portfolio" of tourist arrivals from different countries.

He said the government was considering measures to support the tourism industry, including property tax rebates and reducing the levies paid by employers to hire unskilled foreign workers.

These measures were similar to those taken by Singapore in 2003 during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak, Chan said, adding that they would help reduce the risk of businesses becoming insolvent or having to lay off workers.

Sars infected 238 people in the island nation, 33 of whom died. Singapore's economy suffered an estimated loss of nearly US$5 billion from the disease. It is currently forecasting economic growth in a wide range of 0.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent this year, after recording its lowest growth rate in a decade last year at 0.7 per cent.

CIMB Bank economist Song Seng Wun expects the impact of the new coronavirus on Singapore's economy to be minimal, unless the situation worsens. "What the impact will be really depends on how lethal this latest virus is. We're less fearful as when we had Sars. That was when people were really in complete darkness about how serious it was and how to deal with it. Now we have a better flow of information and people are still going about their daily lives."

However, he said the situation might impact Singapore's general election, which has to be called by April next year but pundits expect to see happen as early as this April. "Obviously, this virus is the first priority for the government. So I'd say as long as this remains something that needs to be tackled on a very urgent basis, I suppose politicking will have to be pushed back a bit."

The island nation is anticipating an increase in the number of imported cases given the country's status as an international travel hub. To handle this, authorities advised Singaporeans to avoid unnecessary travel to the whole of China, not just to Hubei province. Wuhan, the province's capital, is the epicentre of the outbreak.

There will now be temperature screenings for every flight landing at Changi Airport, not just flights from China. Health care teams will be stationed at the jet bridges of flights coming from China, and passengers carrying passports issued in Hubei will be pulled aside to ensure that they are well, with their contact details recorded.

Students and staff from government schools who returned from China recently will be given a 14-day leave of absence. Within the past 14 days, five Singaporean students had visited Hubei province, while 887 students and staff had visited other parts of China, according to Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung.

Student hostels at three local universities are also being converted into government quarantine facilities.

Guests wear masks at the Shangri-La Rasa Sentosa Resort and Spa in Singapore. Photo: EPA

Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong, who co-chairs Singapore's virus task force, said he was confident the situation could be contained.

When asked about the Economist Intelligence Unit index that in October ranked Singapore 24th out of 195 countries for preparedness in handling major infectious disease outbreak " behind Malaysia and Thailand " the authorities said the report used open sources that might not paint an accurate picture.

The city state has been visited by the World Health Organisation, which inspected its facilities and was "happy with our state of readiness and they are confident that we have a robust system in place to deal with pandemics and infectious outbreaks", a health ministry official said.

The government said they were in touch with the 35 Singaporeans in Wuhan, which has been locked down by Chinese authorities, and was working with Beijing to "explore what can be done".

The government has used the anti-fake news law on SPH Magazines, ordering it to correct a post on an online forum it operates, HardwareZone, that falsely claimed a man in Singapore had died from the virus infection. False news like this must be dispelled so as to avoid panic, saidMinister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran.

According to reports from mainland Chinese media, Thailand was the most popular overseas destination for people from Wuhan between December 30 and January 22, the day before the lockdown was enforced.

Financial newspaper China Business News reported that some 20,000 people had flown to airports in Bangkok during that period, while Changi Airport and Tokyo's Narita International Airport respectively received 10,680 and 9,080 passengers from Wuhan. More than 7,000 flew to Hong Kong.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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